GUEST POST Navigating the Teenage Years

High School is tough. One of the realities though, is how much harder it can be for parents to navigate these often difficult times with their students regardless of which side of the fence they find themselves.

This is an infographic that we created for the parents of our 11th grade students. In our commitment to partnering with parents, we wanted to be clear and honest about many of the issues that our students (especially 11th graders) are facing. We walked our parents through this infographic and discussed some best practices when it comes to helping students navigate these difficult years.

As you can see from the infographic, the amount of pressure that students feel builds in their high school years. In turn, the amount of “good air” that is pumped into students by parents, church and positive adult relationships is lacking if not nonexistent. Thus, we often see a major “release” resulting in negative and dangerous behaviors by the students. Both churches and families have to do a better job of creating the space for “good air” to be pumped back into our students lives. We hope that this infographic can be a great resource and teaching tool for families and other student ministries!